AMES, Iowa (AP) — Missouri State has become a small-school outlier in an NCAA Tournament largely dominated by chalk. The Lady Bears are playing like they belong among the giants of the women’s game. Alexa Willard scored 17 points to help 11th-seeded Missouri State stun third-seeded Iowa State 69-60 on Monday night, becoming the only double-digit seed to reach this year’s Sweet 16.

Abby Hipp had 11 points and Danielle Gitzen scored 10 for the Lady Bears (25-9), who will compete in a regional semifinal for the first time since the Jackie Stiles-led team in 2001. They’ll face Stanford in Chicago after becoming the ninth team in 10 years to reach the Sweet 16 as a double-digit seed.

Missouri State had gone one-and-done in its previous four NCAA appearances. It might have seemed as though a game-deciding run was inevitable in the fourth quarter for the Cyclones. But it was the Lady Bears, fresh off a dominant win over sixth-seeded DePaul, who took control when it mattered.

The Cyclones fell a game shy of matching the school record for wins in a season. This was a brutal way to end the year, but it was still a remarkable turnaround for a program that bottomed out at 14-17 a year ago.
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Iowa State will look to move on after losing Bridget Carleton, who finished her career seven points shy of the school record, and Middleton. Carleton had 31 points in her final game to lead Iowa State, which shot a ghastly 2 of 17 on 3s and 35.6 percent overall.